Niusha Carmen Mancilla Heredia (born 19 January 1971 in Cochabamba)[1] is a Bolivian former middle and long-distance runner. She holds the Bolivian records from 800 metres up to the 15 km road distance, as well as for the 3000 metres steeplechase.

Niusha Mancilla
Atleta Boliviana Niusha Mancilla
Personal information
Full nameNiusha Carmen Mancilla Heredia
Born (1971-01-19) January 19, 1971 (age 53)
Cochabamba, Cochabamba, Bolivia
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight52 kg (115 lb)
Sport
Country Bolivia
SportWomen's Athletics
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Bolivia
South American Championships
Silver medal – second place 1997 Mar de Plata 1500 metres
Silver medal – second place 2003 Barquisimeto 1500 metres
South American Games
Silver medal – second place 1998 Cuenca 800 m
Silver medal – second place 1998 Cuenca 1500 m
Bronze medal – third place 1998 Cuenca 5000 m
Bronze medal – third place 1990 Lima 1500 m
Bolivarian Games
Gold medal – first place 2001 Ambato 800 m
Gold medal – first place 2001 Ambato 1500 m
Gold medal – first place 2001 Ambato 3000 m steeplechase
Bronze medal – third place 1997 Arequipa 1500 m
South American Youth Championships
Silver medal – second place 1986 Comodoro Rivadavia 800 m
Bronze medal – third place 1984 Tarija 800 m

She is a two-time South American silver medallist in the 1500 metres and competed three times at the IAAF World Indoor Championships over that distance. She won middle distance track medals at the Ibero-American Championships in Athletics at the 2000 and 2002 editions. At the 2001 Bolivarian Games she won three gold medals and set two national records. She also represented Bolivia at the 2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and the 2003 Pan American Games.

Career

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Mancilla began competing in middle distance events from a young age and was the 800 metres bronze medallist at the 1984 South American Youth Championships in Athletics.[2] She made her global debut at the 1986 World Junior Championships in Athletics, competing in the 800 m and the 400 metres hurdles,[3] in Athletics before going on to win the 800 m silver medal at the 1986 South American Youth Championships in Athletics.[4] At later South American Junior Championships in Athletics, she came fourth in 1987 and 1988, then fifth at the 1989 meet.[5][6][7]

Mancilla's senior debut came at the 1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships, where she ran in the heats of the 1500 metres.[8] In the outdoor season she claimed her first major senior medal, a silver over 1500 m at the 1997 South American Championships in Athletics.[9] She was also a bronze medallist at the 1997 Bolivarian Games.[10] Her first 800 m medal came at the 1998 South American Games, where she was runner-up in a time of 2:07.85 minutes.[11] She set a Bolivian record of 4:20.16 minutes in the indoor 1500 m heats at the 1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships.[8] Her first medal in cross country running also came that year when she was runner-up to Chile's Erika Olivera in the short course race at the South American Cross Country Championships.[12] This led to her competing at the 2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and she came 82nd overall.[8]

Her run of 16:14.03 minutes in 2000 was a Bolivian record for the 5000 metres and she was the 1500 m bronze medallist at that year's Ibero-American Championships.[13] Her best performances the following year all came at the 2001 Bolivarian Games, where she completed a triple gold medal sweep in the 800 m, 1500 m and the 3000 metres steeplechase. Her 800 m time of 2:03.98 minutes and steeplechase time of 10:40.7 minutes were both Bolivian records.[10] Mancilla won multiple medals at the 2002 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics in Guatemala City, taking the 800 m bronze and 1500 m silver medals.[13] She competed on the Spanish track circuit that summer and ran a 1500 m best of 4:17.91 minutes in San Sebastián and a 3000 metres national record of 9:16.03 minutes in Seville.[8] Further to this, she ran a 15 km road record of 52:45 minutes in Bolivia in October.

She ran an indoor 3000 m record of 9:35.1 minutes the following February in Zaragoza. Later that year she had her best ever performance in the 1500 m and improved her national record by over a second with a run of 4:16.64 minutes in Seville.[8] At the 2003 South American Championships in Athletics Mancilla won her second and final continental track medal with a runner-up performance in the 1500 m (she was also fourth over 800 m).[9] She also took part in the 2003 Pan American Games, but did not finish in the 1500 m final.[14] In her third global appearance she competed at the 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships, but did not finish her heat.[15] She set an unofficial South American 2000 m best of 5:59.96 minutes at a competition in Rivas-Vaciamadrid and attended the 2006 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics in Huelva later that season, placing fourth in the 1500 m and sixth over 3000 m.[11] She ran a Bolivian record in the 10K road race in November, running a time of 34:01 minutes in Madrid. She continued to compete in low level meetings in Spain from 2004 to 2008, but retired thereafter.[11]

Achievements

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing   Bolivia
1984 South American Youth Championships Tarija, Bolivia 3rd 800 m 2:24.8 min A
1986 World Junior Championships Athens, Greece 38th (h) 800m 2:21.10
21st (h) 400m hurdles 66.88
South American Youth Championships Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina 7th 400 m 60.37
2nd 800 m 2:19.18
1990 South American Games Lima, Peru 3rd 1500 m 4:37.4
1991 South American Championships Manaus, Brazil 10th 800 m 2:14.50
6th 1500 m 4:38.86
Pan American Games Havana, Cuba 12th (h) 800 m 2:13.21
12th 1500 m 4:44.90
1997 World Indoor Championships Paris, France 17th (h) 1500 m 4:28.70
South American Championships Mar del Plata, Argentina 4th 800 m 2:10.28
2nd 1500 m 4:34.90
Bolivarian Games Arequipa, Perú 3rd 1500 m 4:33.3 A
1998 South American Games Cuenca, Ecuador 2nd 800 m 2:07.85
2nd 1500 m 4:25.42
3rd 5000 m 17:17.9
1999 World Indoor Championships Maebashi, Japan 14th (h) 1500 m 4:20.16
Pan American Games Winnipeg, Canada 12th (h) 800 m 2:09.91
9th 1500 m 4:26.71
2000 Ibero-American Championships Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 3rd 1500 m 4:20.02
2001 Bolivarian Games Ambato, Ecuador 1st 800 m 2:03.98 A
1st 1500 m 4:22.6 A
1st 3000 m s'chase 10:40.7 A
2002 Ibero-American Championships Guatemala City, Guatemala 3rd 800 m 2:08.53
2nd 1500 m 4:25.25
2003 South American Championships Barquisimeto, Venezuela 4th 800 m 2:07.63
2nd 1500 m 4:21.54
Pan American Games Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 1500 m DNF
2004 World Indoor Championships Budapest, Hungary 1500 m DNF
Ibero-American Championships Huelva, Spain 4th 1500 m 4:21.52
6th 3000 m 9.28.70

References

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  1. ^ Niusha Mancilla nos cuenta por qué abandonó (in Spanish), Bolivia.com, Interlatin Corp., August 21, 2003, retrieved May 9, 2013
  2. ^ 1984 South American Youth Championships in Athletics Archived 2012-02-24 at the Wayback Machine. World Junior Athletics History. Retrieved on 2012-03-31.
  3. ^ 1986 World Junior Championships Archived 2014-02-26 at the Wayback Machine. WJAH. Retrieved on 2012-03-21.
  4. ^ 1986 South American Youth Championships in Athletics Archived 2012-05-02 at the Wayback Machine. WJAH. Retrieved on 2012-03-21.
  5. ^ 1987 South American Junior Championships in Athletics. WJAH. Retrieved on 2012-03-21.
  6. ^ 1988 South American Junior Championships in Athletics Archived 2012-05-27 at the Wayback Machine. WJAH. Retrieved on 2012-03-21.
  7. ^ 1989 South American Junior Championships in Athletics. WJAH. Retrieved on 2012-03-21.
  8. ^ a b c d e Mancilla Niusha. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-03-31.
  9. ^ a b South American Championships (Women). GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2012-03-31.
  10. ^ a b Bolivarian Games. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2012-03-31.
  11. ^ a b c Mancilla Niusha. Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2012-03-31.
  12. ^ South American Cross Country Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2012-03-31.
  13. ^ a b Ibero-American Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2012-03-31.
  14. ^ 2003 Pan American Games results. AthleCAC. Retrieved on 2012-03-31.
  15. ^ 2004 World Indoor Championships - Women's 1500 metres. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-03-31.
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